The Buffalo Bills ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ bid at an undefeated season Sunday, successful 30-21 in a battle of AFC contenders.
Nursing a tenuous 23-21 lead late within the fourth quarter, Bills quarterback Josh Allen led a 12-play, 70-yard drive culminating in a 26-yard landing run by Allen on fourth down that successfully put the sport away.
On the Chiefs’ subsequent drive, Patrick Mahomes was intercepted with just a little over a minute to go, and Buffalo knelt out the clock.
The Bills’ offense was the story of the sport.
Kansas City entered Sunday’s sport fifth in scoring protection, permitting solely 17.9 factors per sport. The Chiefs additionally hadn’t allowed a workforce to attain 30 factors because the Philadelphia Eagles did in Super Bowl 57 in February 2023.
Buffalo put an finish to that, nevertheless, due to a balanced assault. Allen threw for 262 yards, whereas the workforce ran for 104. (Allen was additionally the Bills’ main rusher, with 55 yards.) The steadiness in each the cross and the run video games allowed Buffalo to manage the ball for 34 minutes and three seconds — holding Mahomes off the sphere.
The Bills transformed 9 of 15 third downs in comparison with solely 5 of 10 for Kansas City.
Mahomes additionally struggled by his requirements. He was intercepted on his first cross and was in the end ineffective within the second half. In the ultimate two quarters, the Chiefs scored on just one drive, punting on their first two possessions earlier than the choose on the desperation drive trailing by 9.
The loss is Kansas City’s first since Christmas, a span of 328 days.
While Buffalo is nearer to securing first place within the AFC, that gained’t be a silver bullet for the workforce within the playoffs.
Buffalo has overwhelmed Kansas City 4 occasions in a row within the common season, three of them on the highway. However, Mahomes and the Chiefs have by no means misplaced to the Bills within the postseason. Kansas City has overwhelmed Buffalo in three straight playoff matchups — together with on the Bills’ residence stadium in January.
The loss dropped Kansas City to 9-1 and improved Buffalo to 9-2, inserting the Bills a half-game out of first place within the convention.
Buffalo is on a bye subsequent week.
The Chiefs will subsequent play the Carolina Panthers.